btw - This is the still im talking about
Mine is pretty much as pictures except I have taken the column and element out and put it in a larger pot. Ive been running this still for a year or so now and i am still not happy with the results. I have been using the still spirits products with it - 6kg dextrose + turbo yeast wash, cleared after fermentation finished, 24 hours later into the still, ditch first 50mm head, run until temp gets to 90 degrees then stop, water down (comes out still at 70%), into carbon Z filter which takes 24 hours or so to complete, the flavour and drink. The results I have got with this method have been very average.
For my latest batch I used 7kg of sugar with the turbo yeast. Instead of clearing I just let it settle for a few days longer. I did a fast stripping run taking ditching the first 100ml from each 10L batch and stopping at 90 degrees. I then watered it down and ran it through the still a 2nd time, also ditching the first 70-80ml and stopping at 88-89 degrees. I tasted a few drips during the distillation. I could easily distiguish the head but couldnt really pick up the tails. Anyway after 2 trips though the still it tasted and smelt only slightly better than my old batches and was approx 90% strength. Instead of using the z carbon filter (which seems to do nothing) ive sat the spirits in a pot with the carbon for about a week now. The smell has almost completely gone, the taste is much improved, but its not what i'd call commercial quality (very harsh to drink).
so yeah, short of modyfying the column is there anything else i should be doing? Is there any hope for this still?